Forests

SMALL BUSINESS 2000 MEANS MORE WOOD AND JOBS FOR VALUE-ADDED SECTOR

25/05/1998

DELTA - The Ministry of Forests' Small Business 2000 means more wood for B.C.'s remanufacturers and more jobs for the growing value-added wood processing sector, Forests Minister David Zirnhelt announced today.

"Small Business 2000 is increasing the amount of timber directly accessible to remanufacturers, as called for in the Jobs and Timber Accord, and will create 3,100 new long-term jobs," said Zirnhelt. "This initiative will also utilize by December 2000 the undersold timber from previous years and its name reflects this."

Jobs will be created through the increased amount of timber available to remanufacturers, full sale of all small business allocations each year and sale of available accumulated undersold volumes from past years. Getting more wood into the hands of B.C.'s value-added sector has posed a significant challenge to the forest industry and government for decades, and Small Business 2000 improves access to wood for this key part of the forest industry, said Zirnhelt.

"Increasing the wood supply to independent remanufacturers is an essential component for market diversification, as set out in the accord," said Zirnhelt. "Maximizing investment and employment under Small Business 2000 is a clear example of the benefit of the accord's new forest sector partnership."

Under the initiative, remanufacturers now have additional access to about 565,000 cubic metres of timber on the Coast and 1.25 million cubic metres across the Interior. Additional timber which should have been sold in the past will also be sold by December 2000.

Ron Sangara, president of the Independent Lumber Remanufacturers Association, said, "Our members are pleased that Small Business 2000 will supply them with much-needed wood fibre in the future."

In addition to increasing the wood supply for remanufacturers, Small Business 2000 means that for the next few years up to one-third of the Small Business Forest Enterprise program sales will be available in longer-term, larger volume sales. Most of these sales will be made available to remanufacturers and will require clear commitments to create sustainable jobs for B.C. This measure is a key step towards diversifying and strengthening B.C.'s forest economy, which is a long-term objective of the accord, said Zirnhelt.

For the first time, shake and shingle operators will be able to directly bid on sales for remanufacturing. Through this initiative, 250,000 cubic metres per year is available for bidding by shake and shingle operators.

"Small Business 2000 is another major step towards unlocking the potential of the independent value-added sector in B.C.," said John Brink, president of the B.C. Council of Value-Added Wood Processors.

In 1988, government encouraged the growth of the remanufacturing sector by setting aside a specific pool of timber for remanufacturers to access. Some of this timber directly supplies remanufacturers.

The majority of the timber is traded for lumber from other B.C. producers. These partnerships have allowed the remanufacturing secto= r to grow quickly since 1988. Small Business 2000 will provide further opportunities for growth.

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Backgrounder:

SMALL BUSINESS 2000

Small Business 2000 is the on-the-ground outcome of five commitments government made to create more jobs in the remanufacturing sector under the Jobs and Timber Accord in 1997. Small Business 2000 redefines the strategic focus of the Small Business Forest Enterprise program to deliver more timber to the remanufacturing sector by December 2000. The remanufacturing sector has embraced these changes and has committed to making over 3,100 new jobs as a result.

The Small Business Forest Enterprise program was established in 1979 as a means of making Crown timber available to relatively small firms and individuals who do not hold ongoing harvesting rights. By law, major licensees are not allowed to participate in the program. About 2,300 logging firms and 500 sawmilling firms are registered in the program. The program is self-financing, preparing 9.5 million cubic metres for sale each year across the province.

Small Business 2000 will increase the amount of timber available to all registrants in the Small Business Forest Enterprise program. Through Small Business 2000, government has committed to sell all harvesting rights apportioned to the program. This commitment will increase the total program amount sold by over 1 million cubic metres. Small Business 2000 will also ensure that 2.1 million cubic metres (enough to build 27,000 Canadian homes) of volume not sold in the past will be marketed by December 2000.

Small Business 2000 will change the focus of the program to ensure more timber is remanufactured in the province. Small Business 2000 will increase the amount of timber available directly to remanufacturers by about 1.8 million cubic metres or almost 70 per cent. Small Business 2000 also ensures a part of this volume will be made available on a competitive basis to the shake and shingle sector in order to stabilize the supply of fibre to this important part of the forest industry.

Two new tenure types are used in Small Business 2000 - non-replaceable forest licences and timber sale licences with cutting permits. These new tenures require licensees to take on more of the forest management responsibilities and streamline the delivery of timber to their plants. These new tenures will allow program registrants to acquire longer-term and larger volume supplies of timber, which will stimulate new investment and job creation as well as anchor the existing sector.

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